Dick Clark, in the late 1950s, at his podium station for the popular TV dance show, "American Bandstand."

In August 1957, American Bandstand, a new television show broadcast out of Philadelphia, PA, featured local teenagers dancing to the new rock ‘n roll music. The show had just “gone national” on the ABC television network on August 5th. With its new young host, Dick Clark, the show aired every day at 3 p.m. for an hour-and-a-half. Within six months of its national debut, American Bandstand was picked up by 101 stations. Soon there were about 20 million viewers tuning in, half of whom were adult. Fan letters poured in by the tens of thousands. Teenagers came to Philadelphia from wide and far for a chance to dance on the show. But American Bandstand also became a place where new talent could be seen, as Clark allotted featured spots on each show for new acts to perform their songs. “Perform,” in this case, is a generous term as the guest or guests typically “lyp-synced” or mouthed the words to their pre-recorded songs rather than performing them live. They did, however, appear in person and typically sat with Clark in brief conversation, answering his questions about their music, where they were from, what they were doing next, etc.

During American Bandstand’s first national season — which ran a short five months from its August opening — about 200 or so guests appeared. Typically, one or two acts were scheduled for each show. Among notable guests appearing that first season, some making their television debuts, were: Paul Anka, Chuck Berry, Sam Cooke, Bobby Darin, The Del-Vikings, The Diamonds, Buddy Holly, Johnny Mathis, Simon & Garfunkel( “Tom & Jerry”), Andy Williams, Jackie Wilson, and others. Some guests appeared more than once that season, including: Frankie Avalon, The Chordettes, The Everly Brothers, The Four Coins, Bill Haley & the Comets, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Mello Kings, and Gene Vincent. A few acts in 1957 launched national and international careers after appearing on Bandstand. Danny & The Juniors, for example, rose quickly to national notice shortly after an early December 1957 Bandstand appearance. Their song, “At the Hop,” rose to the top of the music charts within weeks of their appearance.

Dick Clark with Johnny Mathis on American Band-stand in Oct 1957. Mathis released two singles in 1957: “Wonderful, Wonderful” & “It’s Not For Me To Say.”

On December 5th, 1957, the Diamonds appeared with their song “the Stroll,” which kicked off a new kind of dance with the kids forming two lines facing each other with several yards of space between them, as dance couples then took turns “strolling” down this middle aisle. Non-musical guests would also appear occasionally, as in the case of actor Hugh O’Brian from the ABC-TV series “The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp.” O’Brian appeared on the October 25, 1957 show. Some guests appeared only once and never emerged as national stars. Among those who appeared in 1957, were artists from an older era of popular music that continued in a period of transition to rock ‘n roll music. A listing of many of those who appeared on American Bandstand during its first national season appears below by show date, and when available, song performed.

Dick Clark interviewing the Everly Brothers at a “Bandstand” performance. They appeared at least twice in 1957 – Sept 13th & Dec 23rd, singing “Wake Up Little Susie” and other songs.

In addition to the regular American Bandstand weekday afternoon shows that aired in 1957, there were also a series of prime time American Bandstand TV shows broadcast on Monday evenings in the 7:30-8:00 p.m. time slot. Bill Haley & The Comets, for example, appeared on the prime time show, October 28th, 1957; Mickey & Sylvia appeared there, November 25th, 1957. The prime time shows, 13 in all that year, were much like the daytime show, with a bit more focus on the guests. These shows appeared to be experimental and served to broaden the reach of Bandstand to more viewers who could not see the daytime version. Some of these show dates are also included below. In any case, in 1957, American Bandstand — with its nationally-broadcast television dance show and a daily spotlight on new musical talent — was helping to build the gigantic national and international business that would emerge around rock ‘n roll music.

The Mello-Kings appeared twice on Bandstand in 1957 performing ‘Tonite, Tonite”(later corrected to “Tonight, Tonight”). Despite rising only to No.77 on the pop charts, the song remains a Doo Wop favorite.

Chuck Berry, shown here in another performance, made his national TV debut on American Bandstand Nov. 8, 1957 singing “Rock and Roll Music.”

Danny & The Juniors rose to national fame after they appeared on Bandstand as a substitute act in early December 1957, singing "At The Hop," which soared to No.1. Click for separate story.

Bill Haley and his Comets, one of the more famous rock ‘n roll acts by 1957, appeared on Bandstand’s prime time show Oct 28th and on the regular show, Nov 27th 1957.

The Chordettes appeared on the first nationally televised “American Bandstand” show, August 5, 1957. Their No. 2 national hit, “Lollipop,” came in 1958.

John A. Jackson, American Bandstand: Dick Clark and the Making of a Rock ‘n’ Roll Empire, New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.

Hank Bordowitz, Turning Points in Rock and Roll, Citadel Press, 2004.

“Facing the Music,” Time, Monday, November 30, 1959.

“Teen-Agers’ Dreamboat,” New York Times, March 5, 1960.

“American Bandstand” and “Dick Clark,” The Museum of American Broadcast Communications.

Ginia Bellafante, “Ultrasuede Is Funny – VH-1’s Reruns of American Bandstand Prove the Hootie Network Can Outwit MTV,” Time, Monday, April 22, 1996.

Fred Goodman, “Roll Over, Beethoven: How Dick Clark Taught American Parents not to be Afraid of Rock-and-Roll and Made a Fortune in the Process,” Dick Clark and the Making of a Rock ‘n’ Roll Empire, Book Review, New York Times, October 26, 1997

Robert Stephen Spitz, Rock, Roll & Remember, Book Review, New York Times, October 24, 1976.

Ken Emerson, “The Spin on Bandstand – Music, TV and Popular Culture Learned to Swing to the Beat of a Different Drummer: Big Bucks,” Los Angeles Times, August 5, 2007.

A documentary film entitled The Wages of Spin, focuses on the history of American Bandstand, the 1950s payola scandal, and Dick Clark. A preview clip from that documentary is available at You Tube and additional information is found at Character Driven Films.